Looking at 29ers - Please Advise!

I just joined the forum and was hoping to find out if anyone can offer advice on 29ers?

I was at a shop yesterday and looked at all kinds.

I drilled it down to two companies I"m trying to decide on - Specialized or Gary Fisher.

There two specific models I'm looking at:

* Gary Fisher "Mamba"
* Specialized "Rockhopper"

Can you all help me decide which is a better option? It seems like the Specialized bike offers a bit more room for customization (i.e. switching gear ratios, moving to single speed, etc.), but I like the way the Gary Fisher frame looks and feels.

Although I didn't have that particular Gary Fisher (mine was the Supercaliber), I did have the Rockhopper and can give you some impressions:

In the catalog the Supercaliber was a great bike. It had all the components I wanted, suspension and impressive light weight. The weight was the problem. Too much material had been taken out of the frame to make it racier and it felt like a wet noodle on the trail. Granted, I am a big guy at 6'-4" 230lbs, but I could take the handlebars while holding the seat with my legs and flex them sideways by several inches. Very unnerving and bad enough that I sold it to a guy 50 lbs lighter than me and he loved it.

The Rockhopper was the exact fix for the flexy GF. Solid, great handling and a very nice looking bike too. I upgraded it to the point that when someone made me an offer on it, I put all the stock parts back on it, sold it and bought a Niner AIR9. In stock trim the Rockhopper has good usable components...I just wanted something a bit lighter and 'flickable'. If I hadn't been made the offer, I'd have kept the Rockhopper and been very satisfied with it.